Soldier charged with using AI to create child pornography

According to the Department of Homeland Security, a soldier in Alaska has been charged with using artificial intelligence (AI) to create child sexual abuse material based on children he knew.

Seth Herrera, 34, who is based in Anchorage, Alaska, was charged with transporting, possessing and receiving files containing depictions of child sexual abuse, court documents show.

According to federal prosecutors, Herrera is also accused of using artificial intelligence chatbots to create child sexual abuse material involving children he knew and of using encrypted messaging applications to find and download such material.

According to court documents, he is accused of possessing tens of thousands of images of CSAM on numerous cell phones, including those of infants.

Herrera was arrested on August 23 and is charged with transportation of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to appear in court on August 27.

In a statement, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “The misuse of cutting-edge generative AI is accelerating the spread of dangerous content, including child sexual abuse material. As a result, the Department of Justice is accelerating its enforcement efforts.”

Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Pacific Northwest Division also commented on the case, saying: “The indictment of Herrera, a U.S. soldier, for trafficking and generating child sexual abuse material using artificial intelligence represents a serious breach of trust and provides a foretaste of the challenges law enforcement will continue to face in the face of this growing threat to our children.”

He continued: “This horrific misconduct undermines Herrera's commitment to defending both our nation and its most vulnerable members.”

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska stated, “Technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children will not change. We will aggressively pursue those who produce and traffic in child sexual abuse material (CSAM), regardless of how that material was created. Simply put, CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM, and those who sexually exploit children, through whatever technological means, will be held accountable by our office, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, to ensure justice is served and our children are kept safe.”

If convicted, Herrera faces up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of five years.

The FBI issued a public notice in March informing the public that using AI to create child sexual abuse material is illegal.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IFW), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to children's online safety, released a report in 2024 and found that more than 3,000 AI CSAM videos were shared online last year and the first AI CSAM videos were posted online.

The IFW also found that the number of views of AI-specific threads using CSAM increased by 22 percent from September 2023 to March-April 2024.

Newsweek has emailed the Alaska District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

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